Keep It Undercover
by H. J. Hunter
Summary: K.C. Cooper is becoming a first class teenage spy. But now, the agency wants her to go on nationwide missions with a partner of her own, Derek Strett. Will romance blossom between them? Or will their work keep them apart? I don't own K.C. Undercover or its characters. I only own my OC Derek. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

K.C. stood in front of her parents, arms crossed over her chest. They had called her downstairs, interrupting her usual after-school study session. Her mom stood in the kitchen and her dad was sitting at the dinner table. They had nervous looks on their faces but were trying to cover them up with smiles. K.C. sighed and finally spoke aloud,"Okay. I'm here. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Her mom walked over and stood next to her dad, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from his hands,"Uh, well-K.C., the-"

Her mom rolled her eyes and spoke for him,"K.C., the agency has decided that you have completed enough of your preliminary training to receive more advanced missions. And, they also want to assign you to a partner."

Kira's daughter's eyes grew wide with surprise and shock,"WHAT!? Why can't I just stay with the family?"

Craig stepped in then, his confidence regained,"Sweetie, I know this is hard for you to grasp right now. But this is huge! The agency respects and trusts you enough to go on missions all over the country. They're raising your rank from Servicewoman all the way up to Senior Operative. That's skipping six ranks! The last agent to do that ended up becoming Director of the CIA." Craig saw that his daughter was still unconvinced so he decided to resort to drastic measures to win her over,"Your partner is also a 16 year old agent at the Senior Operative level. He'll be going to Hamilton High with you."

"I don't care i-. Wait, did you say 'he'?" Craig and Kira smiled at each other. They had won the battle. Kira continued to explain,"Yes, he did. Your partner's name is Derek Strett. He joined the agency a few months before you did and we think you'll get along well with him."

"So-when is he going to show up? Not that I'm excited or anything."

"He should be here-" The doorbell rang. "Right now."

Craig ran over to the door, opening it to Derek. The two agents shook hands and walked back to the kitchen. K.C. turned and froze, her mouth slightly agape. "K.C., this is Derek. Derek, this is my daughter, K.C."

Derek was tall, about 6'2". He had short brown hair, spiked in the front. He was muscular, had a tattoo on his right shoulder (giving him the appearance of wearing armor underneath his skin), and he had steel blue eyes. Overall, he was handsome. Very handsome. He extended his hand out to K.C.,"Hey, nice to meet you, K.C."

K.C. knew that she was going to sound stupid. She always sounded stupid when she talked to cute boys. So she just shook his hand and smiled at him. If she was going to be spending time with him, she would have to learn how to talk to him without making a fool of herself. Kira shook hands with Derek and when she greeted him, she sounded like she had known him for years.

"Its good to see you again, Derek. How's your old man doing?"

"He's still got his stubborn attitude. He's set on having me take his place as Director by the time I'm 35, but I don't think I'm the right guy for that job. That's one of the reasons why I signed up to be assigned. And now I know that I made the right decision." Derek glanced over at K.C., the corners of his lips turning up in a slight smile. She blushed. They had barely known each other for 5 minutes and Derek was already starting to drop hints of liking K.C.. Craig also noticed and began to narrow his eyes at his daughter's new partner. This was what he had been afraid of. His little girl was going to end up crushing on this kid. His wife eyed him and shook her head slightly, telling him that he was not going to ruin this for K.C.. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"So, I guess I'll see you around. It was great to meet you, K.C.. I'll see you tomorrow at school." Derek waved good-bye and headed out the door. He slid into his 2015 white Jaguar F-Type and began to head towards his uncle's house a few streets over. His Uncle Wes had been willing to take in the spy and help him with the rest of his training. Wes had been a spy for 30 years and was more than happy to hear that his nephew was moving to D.C. to work for the agency.

K.C. stood at the bay window and watched Derek pull out of the Cooper's driveway. It was going to take some getting used to, but she was more than ready to take on the challenge of working with a partner. After all, she wasn't going to be able to rely on her family forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

K.C. and Marisa were running for dear life towards Hamilton High School. They had missed the yellow limo and were left no choice but to run to school. Marisa stopped running about 2 minutes in.

"What's the point, K.C.? We're never gonna get there on time." Even though Marisa wasn't athletic like K.C., she knew that neither of them would be able to get to class in the 15 minute time span they had. Oddly enough, a car horn sounded from a block away. The best friends turned simultaneously to see a white Jaguar F-Type pulling over to the side walk. The top was down and in the driver's seat was Derek Strett. He was wearing a simple green polo and blue jeans with matching green converse. He had aviator sunglasses on to hide his steel blue eyes.

"You lovely ladies need a lift?" Marisa had already climbed into the passenger seat by the time Derek had finished his question. She was drooling over him, as she did with most boys. K.C. then climbed into the back seat and waited for the car ride to be over.

* * *

The trio had gotten to school with 10 minutes to spare. Marisa had been talking non-stop to Derek, complimenting him, asking him about his car, and so on. Fortunately, she disappeared after hearing that one of the several cute boys she was crushing on was now single, leaving K.C. and Derek alone. There was a brief silence between them before K.C. spoke up,"Thanks for giving us a ride. You didn't have to do that."

Derek was now standing in front of his locker, fumbling with the combination, his eyes focused on the lock,"I know I didn't have to. But I wanted to. We are partners after all. Speaking of which-" he had finally gotten his locker open and was now unloading his back pack,"I was told that I needed to give you this." He pulled out a small box from the front pocket of his bag and handed it to K.C., who took it skeptically. She may have only been a spy for 6 months, but she knew well enough that small boxes were usually bad news. And, apparently, so did Derek.

"Don't worry. It's nothing that can result in injuring or maiming anyone. It's just a little something that I think you'll find useful." K.C. opened the box and took out a necklace. It was simple, yet elegant at the same time. The chain was gold, and hanging from it was a heart similar to the one on her bracelet that she used on missions with her family.

"It's wired to mine." Derek lowered the collar of his shirt enough to reveal a necklace like K.C.'s only black."If you ever need me, just touch it and it'll send out a signal to mine, giving me your location. It'll do the same thing if I touch mine." K.C. nodded and unhooked the necklace.

"Uh-, you wouldn't mind-?" She handed the necklace to him.

"Not at all." Derek slowly lowered the necklace around her neck and clasped it, trying to avoid making any physical contact with her. Prior to meeting K.C., Craig had asked that Derek avoid being 'romantic' with his daughter at all costs. Though once he had met her, he knew that it would be challenging.

"There you go."

"Thanks." More silence as Derek finished filling his locker. He checked his watch, they had 4 minutes to get to class. He glanced at his schedule. The schedules followed a 5 day rotation, so he looked at the Tuesday column.

_Tuesday_

_1st Period~ AP Chemistry/ Lab 3 with Mr. Kingsley_

"You wouldn't happen to know where Lab 3 is, would you?" Derek couldn't find it on a map since he was never given one. K.C., however, had the school hallways memorized like the back of her hand.

"Yeah. Looks like we'll be more than just spy partners. Follow me." K.C. strode off with Derek on her heels. Dropping off her bag at her own locker, which was only 5 down from Derek's, she grabbed her Chem notes and led Derek to their first class. The science labs were in their own separate wing of the school and each room was used for a different branch of science. There were 12 labs, 6 on each side. The doors to the labs had signs with their subjects on them. Derek read them as K.C. led him to the Chemistry lab. Earth Science, Biology, Physics, Forensics, Environmental Science, Zoology, Meteorology, Anatomy, Medicine, Toxicology, Bio-psychology and finally, Chemistry. Of course it had to be all the way down at the end of the hallway.

* * *

Mr. Kingsley looked as if he had fought in the past 3 wars and was more than willing to show off his battle scars. He had black hair in a military buzz and dark russet brown eyes. His voice was an equivalent to a thunder clap. When Derek handed him his note saying that he was a new student, Mr. Kingsley asked,"What's your IQ, kid?"

"148, sir."

"Certified genius, huh?" Mr. Kingsley was eyeing the only other student he knew to be certified a genius,"Alright. I think you'll work well with Miss Cooper as your lab partner. Normally, she would work alone since there was an odd number. Now... take your seat!"

Derek ran back to the lab bench where K.C. was sitting without another word. He was used to the drill sergeant tone of voice that his Chemistry teacher had. It was similar to his father's tone.

"Well, he's an absolute delight, isn't he?" Derek whispered to his partner. She laughed,"Wait until you see him mad. His face turns into a tomato." They both chuckled at the idea of their teacher's face turning from pale to fire engine red, but there amusement was cut short when the first bell rang, signaling the start of class. Mr. Kingsley turned on the SmartBoard at the front of the class and placed a thumb drive into the computer. Instantly, a set of notes on carbon dating appeared.

A student was on the speaker giving the morning announcements. Eventually, they all blended together in Derek's ears.

'_Blah, blah, Model UN, blah, Varsity Baseball team lost, blah, blah, Robotics club meeting'_

It wasn't until the very last announcement that Derek finally paid attention,

"And don't forget, Juniors! Spring Ball is next Saturday in the school gym. Tickets are $50 and sales end next Friday."

"Spring Ball? What is that a fancy way of saying prom?"

K.C. rolled her eyes,"Basically. I wasn't planning on going. The last time I went to a dance was for my first mission and it ended with me being saved by my brother's behind."

Derek chuckled,"Wait until you hear my mission stories."

* * *

K.C. and Derek walked with each other through the halls for the first half of the day. They had matching schedules for four out the five days. Tuesday was the only day that was different. While K.C. went to Forensics, Public Speaking and Technology, Derek went to Advanced Music Theory, Music Composition and Bio-psychology. Occasionally, Marisa would drop in to flirt with Derek, but he would just push her aside. Not in a mean or rude way, but in a suave manner which only made her come back for more.

After school was finished, Marisa was stuck in detention (again), leaving K.C. alone. As she walked out of the school's main atrium, she saw Derek parked in the now empty bus loop. He was looking at a monitor that sat were the radio was supposed to be. On the screen was Wally, the agency's operator. When Derek finally noticed K.C.'s presence, he dismissed the dorky agent and faced her.

"We've got an assignment. Get in the car."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Would you mind telling me what the assignment is exactly?" K.C. had been asking that question for the past 30 minutes. She was sitting in the passenger seat of Derek's car, which was zooming down a country road at 109 mph.

"Fine. Wally called me saying that your folks needed some assistance in recovering a stolen national treasure and returning it to the Smithsonian."

"And?"

"And what?"

"The national treasure is?"

"So many questions. It's the Hall Sapphire Necklace. It's the only one of its kind and that means we have to do everything in our power to get it back." Awkward silence again. K.C. was thinking about what Derek had said to her first period, '_Wait until you hear about my missions.', _or something like that. She was curious to know more and now was a better time than ever to learn more about him. After all, they would be seeing a lot of each other, they might as well know what makes each other tick.

"Tell me about yourself." K.C. blurted out. Derek chuckled, he knew she would ask sooner or later.

"Alright. My full name is Derek Colton Strett. I was born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 18th, 1998. My father is Wilson Strett III and he's the director of the Midwestern division of the Organization. My mom divorced my dad when I was 5. She thought that my dad was too controlling because he started training me to be a spy when I was only 4. When I wasn't training, I would play the grand piano in our den and I as I got older, I began composing music on my own. That's why I'm taking those advanced music classes at school. I can't be a spy 24/7, even though my dad wants me to. You see, he wants me to follow in his footsteps as director, but I can't see myself in that position. Anyway, I signed up to move out here for assignments after he moved my rank from Serviceman to Senior Operative. Now, I only have to answer to the director here. Not my old man." Derek had remained emotionless during his story. But K.C. was fascinated. She was about to ask him to continue his story, but was stopped when he parked the car behind her family's van. In front of them was a countryside mansion that looked too perfect to be real.

* * *

K.C. climbed into the van and found Ernie sitting in front of the computers.

"Ernie, where's mom and dad?" K.C.'s younger brother turned and spoke in a calm tone.

"Relax, sis. They're interrogating the goons right now."

"ERNIE! WE COULD REALLY USE SOME BACKUP IN HERE!" Kira was currently locked in hand-to-hand combat with a guard. Craig was fighting a man who was holding the Hall necklace.

"Nevermind what I just said. They're on the top floor, fourth room on the left. Now take your little boyfriend and go!"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, okay. You keep telling yourself that." K.C. rolled her eyes and stepped out of the van, grabbing Derek by the arm.

"Top floor, fourth room on the left."

* * *

Derek and K.C. burst into the room and were met with immediate resistance. Guards were on top of them before they could even throw a punch. K.C. had no trouble fighting off the two guards that were attacking her but Derek was struggling. He was facing 5 guards, who surrounded him completely. Thinking back to what he remembered from combat training, he was prepared when one of the guards lunged at him. Derek's trainer had taught him how to identify pressure points on a person's body and use them to his advantage. Before his attacker could make his move, the young agent found every pressure point on the right side of the guard's body and struck them using the technique he was taught. The guard fell to the floor, motionless.

"Next." Derek said coolly. The other four guards dropped the weapons and tried to run out of the room, but were stopped by K.C. who was standing in the doorway. Her partner had shifted to the opposite end of the room and was now assisting her father in recovering the necklace. Craig had stopped fighting the man and was replaced by Derek. Using the same technique, Derek immobilized the thief and grabbed the necklace from his paralyzed hand.

"We've got it. Let's get out of here." Craig led the way back to the cars where Ernie was waiting with a box for the necklace. Derek set it in it's place and sealed the box. Just then, Craig clapped him on the shoulder.

"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

"Thanks. Not so bad yourself." Meanwhile, K.C. was receiving praise from her mom.

"Great job, sweetie. It looks like you and Derek work well together."

"Yeah. But after seeing him in action, I realized that I am _way_ behind on my training."

"You can't forget he _has_ been training since he was four." K.C. nodded in agreement. There was a lot she still needed to learn, not only about being a spy, but about her partner too.

* * *

The group returned to the Cooper house where the director of the Atlantic Seaboard Division was presented with the Hall necklace. After he left, Kira asked Derek to stay for dinner, to which he agreed. K.C. could tell that her mom was trying to get the two teens together. Craig also noticed Kira's plans. He was starting to like Derek, but not that much. He didn't want to let his little girl go yet, hence his rule saying that she couldn't date until she was 18. Obviously, his wife didn't agree with that rule.

After dinner, Derek thanked the Cooper's and headed out to his car. K.C. followed him.

"Derek!" she almost yelled. Derek turned around and faced her with a smile. She handed him a piece of paper with her number scribbled on it,"In case you need me for anything other than spying."

"I don't need the paper." K.C. raised her eyebrow with a look of confusion on her face. Derek explained,"I have a photographic memory. But," he pulled out a pen,"I'll give you mine so I don't look like a creeper trying to call you." On the paper he wrote his phone number and handed it to K.C.,"See you tomorrow, K.C.."

Derek then got in his car and left without another word. K.C. waved to him as he drove away and when he was gone, she looked down at the paper. In a neat scrawl, she read,

_Derek Strett_

_555-0481_

_I'll call u in one hour. I want to get to know u._

* * *

One hour later, Derek had kept his promise. K.C. picked it up almost immediately.

"Hey! You called!"

"I don't like breaking promises, K.C.; especially when I make them to cute teenage spies." K.C. couldn't help but blush at that. Derek was flirting with her. And she liked it.

"So. You wanted to learn more about me. I'll let you ask the questions and I'll try to answer them the best I can."

"Alright. We'll start with an easy one. When's your birthday?"

"September 26th."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Have you dated anyone before?"

"Unless you count going with an enemy spy to a school dance to stop him from using a virus that would render all mobile devices useless, then no."

Silence on the other end of the line, then laughter.

"Okay, next question." Derek said between gasps for air after laughing so hard,"Do you like me?"

K.C.'s heart stopped,"Uh, pass."

More laughter,"Okay, but that's your only pass. Last question, what did you think of my little back story in the car today?"

"I thought it was interesting. But I don't think you told me everything you wanted to."

"So?"

"So, start talking."

"K.C., it's getting late. Don't you have homework or something?"

"No. And it's only 8. Start talking."

"Okay, you win. Where did I leave off?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

K.C. and Derek didn't finish their conversation until 11:30. She should've been exhausted, but instead, she was captivated. She knew more about Derek than she knew about Marisa and she had only just met the guy a day ago. She knew what kind of music he listened to, where he wanted to go to college, what his favorite kind of ice cream was and so much more. Quickly, she changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed.

K.C. flopped back and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

_K.C. was standing next to Derek. They were surrounded by faceless, armed soldiers. They were closing in on the pair of teens. K.C. tried to move, but her feet were stuck to the ground. Turning to Derek to ask for help, she saw that he was hunched over. He was crying. K.C. was aware now that the soldiers weren't after her and Derek. They were only after Derek. Her partner was now shirtless and was being held down by two of the soldiers. A third stood about 5 feet away from him, holding something long and black in his right hand. _

_K.C. realized knew what she had to do. She slipped out of her shoes and began running towards Derek. The third soldier raised his whip and it landed on Derek's back with a sickening 'CRACK'. The sound made K.C. shudder, but not Derek. He sat on his knees, eyes shut, teeth clenched, unflinching. The soldier lashed again and again and again. By the time K.C. reached Derek, his back was covered in blood and he was keeling over from fatigue. The soldier raised his whip to deliver one last blow just as K.C. slid in front of Derek, blocking the soldier's target. But it was too late. The whip came flying down over K.C., striking her face..._

* * *

K.C. woke up drenched in sweat. She sat up, panting and glanced over at her alarm clock. 6:02 am. Perfect timing. She climbed out of bed and instantly felt light-headed. Steadying herself by leaning against the wall, she saw that Derek had sent her a text only a minute before she woke up.

_Need a ride to school?_

She couldn't help but smile at the offer.

_Yea. Thanks._

K.C. got dressed, brushing off her dizziness, and continued to prep for school. 5 minutes later, another text from Derek.

_K. I'll pic u up at 6:45._

K.C. checked her clock, 6:17. Plenty of time. She was still dizzy when she came downstairs for breakfast. It was almost as if something artificial was causing it. Normally, K.C. didn't wake up feeling light-headed. And if she did, it would normally go away by the time she came downstairs. But this time, it didn't.

"K.C.? Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale." Her mom had noticed that she wasn't herself.

"Yeah. Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy." She wasn't fine. Something was wrong. But she wasn't sure that she could talk to her parents about it. Maybe Derek would know what was going on.

"Okay. Just take it easy then." K.C. nodded, silently telling her mom that she would. Her phone went off again with another message from Derek.

_I'm waiting outside 4 u. Whenevr ur ready._

"Mom, I'm going to school. See you later." K.C. rushed to the door as quickly as she could without falling over something. She heard her mom say something but it was cut off when she closed the front door. Just as he said, Derek was there waiting for K.C.. He walked up to her, noticing that something wasn't right.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?"

"Actually, no. I woke up this morning light-headed and it's not going away. It doesn't seem 'natural'."

Derek's eyes grew wide with fear.

"When we were on the assignment yesterday, did one of those guards that you fought have a small weapon. It would've looked like a dart gun."

"I'm not sure."

"Let me see your arms."

"What?"

"Trust me." K.C. took off the jacket she was wearing, exposing her arms to Derek and the cool, morning air. Derek scanned her arms up and down and held them with a light touch. When he found what he was looking for, he ran his thumb gently over what appeared to be a bee's sting. But it wasn't.

"K.C., I think that you should stay home. C'mon." But K.C. couldn't move, instead she felt faint. Her knees buckled beneath her as black spots obscured her vision. The last thing she remembered before blacking out entirely was Derek catching her before she hit the ground.

* * *

Derek rushed K.C. inside and set her on the couch. Kira came running over, followed by Craig and Ernie. Derek was familiar with this type of situation and he knew what to do.

"Ernie, call headquarters. Tell them that it's a Code Epsilon situation." Derek barked to the computer geek. Once Ernie had left the room, Craig began interrogating Derek.

"What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. But one of those guards she fought yesterday did. I found a small welt on her upper right arm. It resembles a bee sting. But it's not; it's an injection site. One of the guards injected her with a serum that would render her useless. If not addressed right away, she could slip into a coma or her body could end up shutting down and she could die."

"How do you know so much by looking at an injection site?" Craig wasn't interrogating anymore, he was just curious.

"The serum causes the welt to appear similar to a bee's sting. But if it was a bee sting, the welt would be itchy and may even burn. She didn't even notice that the welt was there until I pointed it out. Also, the welt is very sensitive to touch and there would be a stinger present if it were a bee sting. The reason why I know so much about the serum is because I helped create it. It was supposed to be used for international criminal execution. The labs in the Midwestern division created it by combing about 5 different neurotoxins with a group of poisonous plants namely moonflower, belladonna, and hemlock. The intention was to make the injection as painless as possible, but it wasn't successful. It takes at least a week for the toxins to take full effect but that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Someone must have managed to steal a sample and reproduce it in mass amounts. It's the only way that it could've reached those guys."

"They're on their way with a medical team." Ernie ran down the stairs, panting.

"Good. Now, we wait." Derek said as he looked down at an unconscious K.C. with worry in his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

10 minutes later, Craig was pacing back and forth, Kira was trying to calm Ernie who was having a panic attack. Derek was the only one who seemed to be calm, though his eyes showed that he was worried about K.C.. By the time Wally and the medical team finally arrived, K.C.'s heart rate had already dropped to 64 bpm and was continuing to decrease. The medical team loaded her into the back of a black truck and shut the door. Inside, there were EMT's holding medical equipment.

"Agent Strett, we need you to come too. You helped develop Epsilon and we'll need your help to remove it." Wally was sincere. Derek nodded and climbed into the back of the truck and shut the door behind him. K.C. was on a gurney and EMTs were already hooking her up to IV's. One of them, a younger man with small brown eyes noticed Derek.

"Agent Strett, is there anything else we need to do?" Derek eyed the temporary monitors.

"What's her heart rate?"

"60."

"How's her blood pressure?"

"It's gone up slightly from normal but isn't a danger."

"Good... keep monitoring her heart rate. When we get to HQ, we'll have to work quickly."

The ride to headquarters wasn't long, but it felt like it would never end. Derek briefly explained the Epsilon serum to the medical team and how it cold be treated.

"As a precaution, the Midwestern labs distributed antitoxins to each of the Organization's medical units. It needs to be injected in the neck," Derek showed the team where the antitoxin would be injected on K.C.,"and the serum will be drained out of her body through the mouth. The antitoxin removes the serum from the bloodstream and transfers it to the lining of the stomach, where it then is absorbed and ejected like any other bacterial pathogen would be. The entire process should take about 5 minutes, but she'll be in danger of becoming dehydrated once she removes the poisons from her body. Make sure there's water on hand." The team nodded in understanding of Derek's orders.

* * *

Once in the Organization's medical wing, Derek and the medical team worked in complete silence. Craig, Kira and Ernie had arrived shortly before the truck did and they were now watching Derek work. K.C. remained unconscious and all IV's were removed from her arms. The only thing that she was linked to was a heart rate monitor. When Derek approached her he held a syringe in his left hand and a bucket in his right. He handed the bucket to one of the EMTs standing near him.

"Hold this near her when she wakes up. We don't want her vomiting on the bed." The EMT looked nauseous himself, but nodded anyway. Derek grabbed a surgical mask and slipped it on, urging the other agents and EMTs to do the same. Holding the syringe, he grabbed a small vile of clear liquid and plunged the syringe inside. Once the syringe was full, he calculated K.C.'s height and weight and measured the appropriate amount of antitoxin. Turning to K.C., he pushed her hair, which was now in a ponytail, back, revealing her neck.

Locating a vein, he set the needle of the syringe where his finger had been and slid the needle into her neck. Using his thumb, he steadily injected the antitoxin into K.C.'s bloodstream, stepping back when he was done and throwing the syringe away. The EMT who was holding the bucket moved into the spot where Derek was just standing and waited for K.C. to wake up. Two minutes later, she began to shift uncomfortably and her face began to turn a sickly shade of green. 30 seconds after, her eyes shot open and she turned to the bucket, relieving her body of the Epsilon serum. A second EMT grabbed a few bottles of water and set them next to K.C.. When she was done, she fell back to the pillow, panting and dazed. She convulsed again and shifted back to the bucket. This time she filled the bucket forcing the EMT to empty it and bring back a new one. While he was getting a new bucket, the rest of the EMTs began to hook her up to IVs to keep her hydrated.

Derek turned to the Cooper's,"She'll be fine, she just needs a few days to recoup."

* * *

After filling the second bucket, K.C.'s toxicity levels dropped to near zero and she was cleared to go when she was ready. Kira and Craig brought Ernie home after he fainted seeing K.C. vomit so much, leaving Derek to keep an eye on K.C..

"Thanks for everything. I owe you big time." K.C. croaked. She was still exhausted.

"You don't owe me anything. You would've done the same for me." Derek took hold of K.C.'s hand, smiling at her.

_'You have no idea,' _K.C. thought to herself,'_no idea at all.'_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day, Derek brought K.C. home. She was greeted by her father who nearly crushed her in a bear hug. He told the teens that Kira and Ernie were at an Agency Board Meeting regarding the Epsilon serum. Now that it was in the hands of the Organization's enemies, there was no telling what they could do.

Just then, a hologram of the Director appeared from Craig's watch. He was making a nationwide announcement regarding the serum.

"Greetings, agents. This message is one of great importance. One of our closest allies has become our greatest enemy. Yesterday, one of our top recruits was diagnosed with Epsilon serum intoxication. The only way that this serum could have possibly reached our enemies is if one of our own has turned against us. In order to keep our agents and the world safe from this deadly poison, the Board has decided to select a team of agents to track down this unknown agent. The team will consist of 4 of our top agents from across the world and they are as follows:

Agent Josef Gorgachev, Ukraine

Agent Benjamin Hunt, South Africa

Agent Derek Strett, United States

Agent K.C. Cooper, United States

Thank you."

The hologram of the Director gave a salute before disappearing. Craig put his arm down and stared at the two teens in surprise. Derek and K.C. were now sitting on the couch, silent. They had been selected out of thousands of international agents to find this rogue. And while K.C. didn't know Josef and Ben, Derek did. He had met the foreign agents at an international conference that his dad had forced him to go to. Josef was a veteran bounty hunter who was able to track just about anyone. Ben was a weapons specialist who had been raised on a military base by his father who was a part of the South African Special Ops team. They were both difficult to work with, due to their constant solo work. They were leaders, not followers.

Just as the Director disappeared from Craig's watch, he reappeared on K.C.'s bracelet.

"Agents K.C. Cooper and Derek Strett?"

"Yes, sir." Derek responded in a militant tone of voice, stern and unfaltering.

"Are you alone?"

Derek and K.C. looked over at Craig who was standing like a statue. When he realized that he wasn't supposed to be there he ran out to the garage, silently apologizing. The teens turned back to the Director.

"We are now, sir."

"Good. As a part of this mission team, you will need to attend a meeting with the Board. It will be on Saturday at 10 am. If you aren't there, there will be consequences. Thank you." With another salute, the Director was gone. Derek was silent and still in shock. His father must have had something to do with this, otherwise the teens would have been overlooked. It was the only possible explanation. K.C., on the other hand, was freaking out. She was babbling about how they would miss school, how Marisa would suspect something, and on and on and on. Finally, Derek was able to get her to shut up.

"Relax, we'll figure things out with the Board on Saturday. For now, we need to play it cool and calm."

"Derek, this isn't just some little mission around the city. This is an international manhunt for someone who probably kill us with a lead pencil if they wanted too."

He didn't know why, but Derek began to get angry with his partner,"I know. And there's gonna be thousands more after this one. I'm not clueless, K.C.; I've been on missions where I've seen people die and have had my share in holding a gun or a bloody knife." K.C. was silent now and Derek's voice was barely more than a whisper as he recalled the memories of some of his past assignments,"I've killed people, K.C.. Most of them were targets, but some of them were not. I watched a little boy die in his sister's arms in Budapest 3 years ago. He died from a bullet wound that I gave him. I wasn't aiming for him, I was aiming for my target, but it doesn't matter now. A child is dead because of me. That's why I will never touch a gun again. That's why you never see me with a hand gun in my belt, or a rifle on my back when we're on missions. I only carry some knives and a taser."

K.C. was shocked at how Derek had broken down so quickly. He had tears in his eyes and his cheeks were turning red. Not sure what to do, she wrapped her arm around him and set her head on his shoulder. At her touch, he instantly relaxed, wrapping his arm around her waist and leaned back against the couch, pulling her with him. Meanwhile, Craig was spying on his daughter through a crack in the door, narrowing his eyes at Derek when he put his arm around K.C.. Almost as if she knew what he was doing, Kira called Craig telling him to go back to the accounting firm and leave the teens alone. Reluctantly, he obeyed his wife.

* * *

K.C. and Derek sat on the couch in silence for a few minutes longer before an idea came into the latter's mind.

"I wanna ask you something. Be completely honest, okay?" K.C. nodded, her head still on his shoulder.

"If we didn't have to do this mission and if I had asked you, would you have gone to the Spring Ball with me?"

K.C.'s heart stopped. What would she have said? She did like him and it sounded like he liked her too. At that thought, she smiled and looked up into his steel blue eyes,"Yeah, I think I would've. Why do you want to know?"

Derek returned her smile,"So I would know if you would let me do this."

Without a second thought, Derek leaned in and pressed his lips against K.C.'s. At first, she didn't know how to respond (it was her first kiss) but she eventually began to kiss him back. The kiss was slow but passionate. It was brief but meaningful. It was unexpected but welcomed anyway. When they broke, Derek pressed his forehead to K.C.'s and smiled. She smiled back. After Saturday, it would be uncertain if they would come back alive, but that didn't matter now. That was the future; they were too busy living in the present to care about it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Saturday came before Derek and K.C. knew it. After the kiss, they vowed not to tell anyone about it. It would be their little secret. They had arrived in the Board Room at 9:30 and sat in the empty room for another 45 minutes before the Board and the other two members of their team came in. Josef was about 32 years old and a tall, broad-shouldered man. He had a thick black beard and short, black hair that had been slicked back, revealing his ice blue eyes under thick eyebrows. When K.C. first saw him, she thought that he was blind; it wasn't natural for someone's eyes to be that light in color. Ben, on the other hand, was in his early twenties, small and muscular. He had sandy blonde hair that hid his dark green eyes. His skin was tan and covered in scars.

The Board took their seats on the opposite side of the room, while Josef and Ben sat on Derek's left. K.C. looked at Derek, who offered her his signature half-smile and took her hand in his. The Chairman of the Board grabbed a small, black remote and pressed a button on it. In front of them appeared a hologram.

"Now, here we have the IDs of possible suspects. Your mission is to travel to each of their home bases and interrogate them. You are all skilled in different ways that are beneficial to this assignment. Your first suspect is Jean Babineaux in Quebec. You will use the Organization's private jet and will leave in 3 hours."

"Vhat? You said dat ve vere only going to discuss our mission plans. None of us are prepared to go on dis assignment on such short notice." Josef shouted. His accent was thick, making it difficult for K.C. to understand what he was saying, but the Board understood him loud and clear.

"We understand your concern, Agent Gorgachev," one of the Board members said in a calm tone,"but this mission cannot have any further delays."

"So what? All we're gonna do is interrogate a few agents from every single base in the world? D'you know how long that's gonna take? It'll be years by the time we get that done!" Ben roared. He may have been small in size, but his temper compensated for it. K.C. and Derek were in agreement with him. By the time they had finished this mission, they would be at least in their early twenties.

"We are aware of that. That's why we wanted to show you this." The Chairman pressed another button on his remote that raised a part of the table. It opened and revealed 4 guns. They were small handguns. Next to them, there were boxes that contained what appeared to be tranquilizer darts. The Chairman pulled one of them out of a box and held it up for the agents to see.

"This is a new technology developed by our labs here in this HQ. These darts contain a truth serum. If the agents you question refuse to cooperate, simply shoot them with one of these. Its effects only last for 30 minutes. These handguns only use neurostim darts. They bring the pain of a real gunshot wound, without actually wounding their target. They will allow you to simultaneously interrogate suspects in the same location, reducing your workload tremendously." The Chairman was eyeing Derek, who remained emotionless,"While some of you may prefer to use these, we will also permit the use of any other weapons you may have in your arsenal."

The other team members nodded in understanding. The Chairman continued,"Your ride will be here shortly. You may head to the airfield now. Good luck and take care, agents." The Board saluted and watched as the agents stood and left the room. Ben and Josef then followed, still upset that they had to leave on such short notice. When they were finally alone, K.C. broke away from Derek and began to pace.

"Calm down, K.C.. Everything's gonna be fine." Derek was abnormally calm. K.C. couldn't help but wonder why.

"How can you be so relaxed?" At this, Derek stood up and wrapped his arms around K.C. in an attempt to stop her from pacing. Looking down at her, he smiled and said,"I'm relaxed because I have to be. You're high strung and wired, K.C.. I've never been one to overreact. Plus, if I'm calm..." he leaned forward and placed his lips on hers, a few seconds later he broke away,"...then that should have helped you calm down too. Am I correct?"

K.C. was dazed, but she nodded anyways.

"Come on. We should get going." Derek extended his hand to her and she took it. Together, they walked to the airfield, where the jet and their team were waiting.


End file.
